Page 8 - Canadian Industry Online

CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - DECEMBER 2015IBEW CanadaIBEW CELEBRATES 125 YEARS OF HARD WORK AND PRODUCTIVITYIN THE CORPORATE world, a mission statement guides a com- pany and provides the necessary direc-tion and vision an enterprise needs to develop its culture. For an organiza- tion like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Canada), a mis- sion statement is more than that. The IBEW mandate, and code of excellence, provide the direction for thousands of workers across the nation, and pro- vides IBEW with the platform it needs to keep workers safe, and in many cases, keep them alive.Founded in 1891 in St. Louis, Mis- souri, the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers was founded with a goal to look out for workers in one of the most demanding and dangerous occupations in the world. Back in that time, the demand for electricity was just starting to rise. This meant that the need for electrical workers was grow- ing but the call for a safe work environ- ment had not been a priority.At the time, workers worked on power lines and in terrible dangerous conditions, day after day, with no con- cern from employers about safety. That all changed when the Brotherhood was born. Originally, under 300 work-“It’s not power linlights on. It’s notthe communicatpeople. Hardworsisters andBill Daniels - International Vice-President 8 | Canadian Industry Online | August/September, 2016